Putting the ‘Mystery’ in Mystery Dungeon
by SquiddlyDiddly
Summary: Tim was pretty sure even his dad would have a hard time figuring out what in the world was going on right now. Rating may go up.
1. P: Why Me, Arceus?

Hello all! So, I watched Detective Pikachu last night, absolutely loved it, and so I decided to write up this little plot bunny one of the later scenes bestowed upon me.

If you haven't watched the movie yet, I highly recommend you go and watch it cause it was great, but if you are going to go see it do not read this story due to spoilers. Thank you!

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Pokémon. All rights go to Gamefreak and Nintendo.

* * *

The past couple weeks have been nothing short of a blur of excitement for Tim Goodman. Ever since the whole Howard-Mewtwo incident and finally reuniting with his father, Harry has been showing him the ropes of how to work as a detective. He's been to crime scenes, riffled through paperwork, done all sorts of research day and night… It's been a tiring on his mind and body, to say the least. It was definitely a step up from working at an insurance agency, that's for sure.

"Ah, don't worry about it, kid. You'll get the hang of it eventually. Besides, you have that Lucy girl to help you out. Now she's a real looker, that one," Harry had said a couple days ago at a coffee shop, trying his best to reassure his son that he was doing fine, much to Tim's embarrassment.

At least he had his father and Pikachu by his side to help him along. Speaking of his dad, he had been spending a copious amount of time with Tim, probably trying his hardest to make up for the many years they spent apart. They went to movies, watched the Kantonian Championship together, and, of course, they went out for coffee. Lots of coffee.

So it was easy to see why, when Tim first felt the sensation of waking up, he snuggled deeper into his position on his bed, wanting nothing more at the moment than a few more much-needed moments of sleep.

'... Did dad throw sand on my bed or something?' Tim thought to himself as he furrowed his brow in confusion. His dad, as it turned out, was quite the comedian when he wasn't focused on work. He would tell every type of joke, which just so happened to include the practical kind, so it wasn't beyond him to pull a prank while Tim was asleep. It was kind of a lame prank, though… sure, it might take a bit to wash off, but other than that it wouldn't inconvenience him that much. He would've expected syrup or something.

Tim cracked open his eyelids slightly, expecting to see his dad above him with that insufferable grin he got when one of his jokes landed. One thing he didn't expect to see was more sand. A lot more sand. The lightly tan particles covered the ground for a good fifteen, twenty meters, until they blended into what looked like a roughly made dirt path. "What… what in the…" He muttered to himself, his brain starting to catch up with what he was seeing.

One thing was for certain. 'This isn't my bed… what the heck is going on?' He thought to himself, panic very slowly beginning to set in for the young detective-in-training as he pulled himself into a sitting position.

"I'm at the beach… okay, what in the world is going on right now," Tim talked frantically to himself, which was often what he did in situations like this. He quickly looked around at his surroundings, seeing an open cave to his left along with that dirt path he had looked at before. Small waves lapped at the shore, not nearly large enough to reach him. The smell of the ocean permeated through the air, the unfamiliar scent filling his nostrils which seemed somewhat clearer for some reason. He had only been to the beach once and that was when his grandma had decided they needed a small vacation, and that was years ago.

Tim tried to calm his breathing, knowing that there was probably some sort of explanation for all of this. 'Okay, this is either a really elaborate joke, or a detailed dream,' He listed off the few possibilities in his mind. Deciding to test out the first one, he called out to see if anyone was around him. "Alright dad, funny joke, really made me… gave me a good scare there, you can, uh, turn off the hologram now!"

He waited a good three minutes. Absolutely no response. "You have got to be…" Tim muttered to himself, feeling a slight headache coming on. "Okay, so this isn't a prank, so then it has to be a dream," He rationalized.

"Heeeey!" A voice he had never heard before in his life suddenly rang to his right, bringing him out of his rambling. Tim blinked. 'Wait, but I thought dreams only contained people you knew…' He wasn't an expert on dreams by any means, but he's pretty sure he read something about that a couple months back.

When he turned to see who's voice that belonged to, his confusion was only furthered when he didn't see any person walking over to him, only a Pokemon that he immediately recognized as a Bulbasaur. He was immediately reminded of the time those Bulbasaur had lead him to Mewtwo so he could heal Pikachu, so perhaps his dream wanted to lead him somewhere?

"Uh… Hello? Anybody back there?" He called towards the dirt path. If his dream wanted him to go over there, he was gonna make sure that he knew what he was getting into.

The next thing that happened shocked him beyond anything he had seen up to this point. "I'm right here, silly! Geez, you must be so disoriented, what are you doing down on the beach?" The Bulbasaur asked him.

He stared at the grass-type blankly, his eyes wide as dinner plates. "I-I'm sorry, did you just… talk?" He asked hesitantly. That was a voice he had never heard before in his life, and he was positive that Bulbasaurs didn't freaking talk!

Said Pokemon looked at him with those wide eyes Bulbasaur usually had, seemingly confused. "Um… Yeah, and so did you, it's not that big of a deal…?" The decidedly female voice said, sounding just as confused yet not nearly as panicked as he was.

He snorted sarcastically, crossing his arms while brushing over the fact that they felt noticeably shorter. "Yeah, not that big a deal, huh? Now my own dream is mocking me? Since when did Bulbasaurs ever speak?!" He ranted, his voice rising in volume as he went.

The Bulbasaur looked at him with concern. "What do you mean, since when? Every Pokemon can talk! Heck, you're talking right now!" She countered, trying to get him to calm down.

Unfortunately this did nothing to calm him. "Please, just stop talking, you're nothing but an admittedly freaky image my brain conjured up for me in this weird dream," Tim said, though mostly talking to himself as he slowly stood. "And do not say I am a Pokemon, because I am a regular human being with a regular human voice, who needs to wake up to his regular human life!"

The "freaky image" paused, looking him over, her expression confused. "Human? But… you look like a totally… normal Pikachu to me!" She pointed out, gesturing towards him with her right forepaw.

Tim froze. "...I'm sorry, could-could you say that again?" He asked as he turned back to her, trying to make sure he heard what she said.

"...You look like a normal Pikachu?" She repeated, a little uneasy with his behavior.

Tim let his gaze linger on her for a moment, before glancing downwards.

Instead of his eyes meeting the pajamas he normally wore to bed, he was casually greeted with that familiar fuzzy fur of a Pikachu, covering his from his chest to his small feet, along with those stubby little paws he was so familiar with seeing on his father's partner. Definitely not something you'd see on a human.

"Ah, right, I'm a Pikachu. Of course." Tim said nonchalantly, trying his hardest to not have a mental breakdown. "Now, if you'll just… uh, ex-excuse me… I'm gonna…"

He punctuated his sentence by collapsing face first into the sand, out like a light.

* * *

There we go! Short, but a good starting point. Let me know if you guys want more, cause I would love writing about Tim, he's a great character. Until next time!


	2. 1: Middle of Nowhere

**This story got a bit more attention than I was expecting, so here I am back for more! I know I have another fanfiction I'm supposed to be working on, but I can't stop thinking about this one. I have a lot of ideas going forward, and I hope you guys enjoy them!**

**To my first reviewer, Defender31415: Your wish is my command!**

**Go ahead and check out my other story that I'm working on at the moment, 'A Future Past, a New Fate' if you wish, but for now let's focus on this one, shall we?**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Pokemon. All rights go to Gamefreak and Nintendo.**

* * *

The guild that belonged to Wigglytuff was bustling with energy, as it usually was at this time of day. Pokemon big and small meandered about on each of the guild's floors, talks of expeditions and rescue missions filling the ears of all who choose to hear them. Exploration teams from various guilds as of late have been in high demand due to the appearance of the many Mystery Dungeons across the land, locations shrouded in a fog of secrets.

Wigglytuff's guild was especially hit hard. Being located in the popular Treasure Town, they had gotten many, _many _jobs and requests, from simply delivery jobs to taking down the most hardened of criminals. The latter jobs were especially reserved for teams of the Master rank, and sometimes even Wigglytuff himself. The increased workload meant a higher demand for Exploration and Rescue teams, which meant the Guild had started recruiting more and more Pokemon to form them.

That was the dream of a certain Bulbasaur on the first floor of the guild, who was currently gazing across the room with an awestruck countenance, stars in her eyes as she tried her hardest to take everything in at once. It was often overwhelming for a first timer when they entered a guild, and she was no exception. "Woah… I had no idea there was so much underground!" She murmured to herself, a joyful grin on her face.

Ever since she had found the Relic Fragment she cherished so much, it had been her dream to form an exploration team with another so she could solve the mystery behind her prized possession. The only problem?

You had to _know _somebody to form an Exploration Team.

She… didn't.

She sighed softly to herself as she stared longingly at a particularly rowdy group of friends, laughing heartily amongst themselves. It wasn't like she didn't _want _to meet people, it was just hard for her to work up the courage to talk to someone like that. The only reason she had willingly talked to that Pikachu was because he looked like he had been in distress.

'That Pikachu…' Her mind wandered to the entire reason she had worked up the nerve to even walk into the guild, let alone stand on that grate at the front. After she had pointed out the rather obvious reality that he was not whatever a 'human' was, and, in fact, a perfectly normal (although normal was pushing it from the way he acted) Pikachu, he had promptly collapsed onto the sand, completely unconscious. She was a tad distraught, so she brought him to the first Pokemon that came to mind when she tried to think of somebody that could help.

That Pokemon being Wigglytuff, the guildmaster of the building she currently stood in. Thankfully, they had let her in without much fuss, and when they heard that the Pokemon she was currently carrying needed help, they were very efficient with getting her to the Guildmaster as quickly as possible. Wigglytuff was… creepy, but he assured her that the Pikachu would be fine, and that was relieving to hear. She had considered leaving now that he was in safe hands, but something in her had told her to stay just to make sure he was okay, and she wasn't one to turn down the chance to explore the guild she so desperately wanted to join.

"Ah, are you the one who brought in that unconscious Pikachu?" A voice question from behind her, bringing her out of her thoughts. Turning, she was greeted with the flamboyant feathers of a Chatot, who was looking at her with a tilted head, the extension on the top of his skull bending slightly.

She blinked, before gasping slightly and nodding vigorously, not wanting to embarrass herself in front of Wigglytuff's right-hand man. "O-oh, yes, that would be me!" She stammered, nervousness evident in her tone.

Chatot almost looked amused with her, his eyes twinkling with hidden laughter. "Well, if you'll follow me, he appears to be close to waking up, and I'm certain he would prefer to be around somebody he _knew_ when he regains consciousness in some unknown place. I'm sure you agree, miss… Ashley, was it?"

The Bulbasaur held back a scoff, rolling her eyes. 'Everyone always gets my name wrong…' "It's Ashlyn, and sure, I'll be there."

Chatot chuckled sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck. "My apologies, Ashlyn. Right this way," He said, before hopping off through the crowd and towards the ladder that led down to the bottom floor of the guild, where all the living quarters and the Guildmaster's room were located, Ashlyn in tow.

* * *

Tim awoke with a start, his breath catching in his throat as he threw his eyes open, quickly rising to a sitting position. He instantly regretted it, however, when bright sunlight met his pupils, causing him to groan in discomfort, throwing an arm up and shutting his eyes to block out the sun. "Agh, what…" He exhaled when he realized that he was back in his room, away from talking Bulbasaurs and… being a _Pikachu, _for some reason. "That was such a weird dream," he muttered as fell back onto his bed, inwardly noting that it felt a lot less plush than he remembered it. Granted, he had only been sleeping on it for a couple weeks now, but he could've sworn it was a lot more comfortable when he fell asleep.

He would've like to fall back asleep, but his abrupt awakening coupled with his extremely strange dream made him anxious, so awake it was for Tim Goodman. He sighed softly, slowly cracking open his tired eyes, only for them to swiftly open, his heart skipping a beat.

This… wasn't his room.

He had thought the light shining onto his face was from the window in his room, but as he frantically glanced around the unfamiliar space, he realized that the light had come from a very crude looking window. It could hardly even be called a window, no glass to speak of protecting him from the elements. Speaking of crude, the rest of the room could very be described as such. Moss growing up what looked walls made of rock, and the floors weren't even proper floors, just packed dirt with tufts of grass sprouting heat and there.

He looked down, and sure enough, that same yellow fur from his dream was covering his body from head to toe, shifting slightly in the breeze as if taunting him.

"I'm still a Pikachu…" Tim breathed, not quite believing what he was seeing. "_Why am I still a Pikachu?!_" He exclaimed, scrambling to his small feet. He was taking quick, shallow breaths, a clear sign of hyperventilation. 'You don't fall unconscious in a dream and then regain consciousness in that same dream, at least… I don't think you can,' He ranted in his mind, not trusting his own voice right now.

Even though it was _impossible, _even though it _defied all logic_, he was beginning to believe this wasn't a dream. He could feel every part of his body moving, _including _his ears twitching on top of his head and his lightning-bolt shaped tail swishing behind him.

The first question he asked himself was; 'How did I even turn into a Pikachu in the first place?' People randomly transforming into Pokemon wasn't exactly what someone would call a common event. The last time he witnessed something like this happen was-

"No…" He muttered as realization swept over his body, sending a cold chill down his spine. "Mewtwo couldn't have been behind this, could he?" Tim asked rhetorically, shivering slightly as his mind recalled the terrifying, crazed eyes of the extremely powerful psychic type. Just a couple weeks ago, Howard Clifford had taken control of Mewtwo and used it's incredible power to fuse the souls and bodies of people and their Pokemon partners. That's what happened to his dad, Lucy… could it have happened to him too? 'But Mewtwo undid that, and now he's off somewhere in the world... why would he come back and do this to me?' He questioned, absolutely puzzled with his current situation. It just didn't make sense! Plus, if Mewtwo has really combined him with his father's Pikachu, or just some random Pikachu out in the wild, then that brought him to the second question he asked himself.

"Where even am I?" He asked himself, his eyes once again sweeping across the unfamiliar room. His breathing had calmed somewhat, but his eyes were still wild around the edges. This building, if one could even call it that, was extremely rugged, and when he walked up to the window, he was greeted with forests he had never seen before in his life. Even the forests back in his Grandma's town weren't this wild or untamed.

Then he remembered something. 'Wasn't I on a beach before…? How did I get here?' He wondered, remembering the powder-fine sand and the cool scent of the ocean. It was certainly better, than this stuffy room, that's for sure. 'Maybe that talking Bulbasaur I met back there brought me here…'

"Ah, you're awake!" A familiar voice to his right said with relief, bringing the detective-in-training out of his thoughts. He turned to face the new arrival, and sure enough, that same Bulbasaur from his 'dream' was standing at the entrance to the room, a smile on her face.

It took everything in Tim's power to keep from freaking out again, still not used to seeing Pokemon talk. It took him a while to get used to hearing Pikachu talk, so who knows how long getting used to being a Pikachu and hearing other Pokemon speak to him will take. "Yep, I'm…" He paused. "...Sorry, where am I?" He asked, deciding to forgo formalities. In a situation like this, information was a top priority.

The Bulbasaur seemed taken aback by his bluntness, blinking in surprise. "You're, uh, in Wigglytuff's Guild," She answered after a pause. Tim tried not to cringe with every word she spoke, not comfortable with seeing the Bulbasaur's muzzle move and human words coming out. 'You'd think being around a talkative Pikachu obsessed with caffeine would make seeing Pokémon talk a little easier…'

"Okay, but I'm talking about what city, what town… what _region_?" He pushed, hoping that this Bulbasaur would have some semblance of where in the world he was. From the forests outside, it could Unova, and he's heard Eterna forest in Sinnoh was pretty big as well.

The puzzled look she gave him didn't instill confidence, that's for sure. "Uh… I don't know anything about regions, but you're in Treasure Town, the most populated town on the continent from what I know of." She answered. Tim looked for any signs of lying or deception, but from what he saw she was being truthful. His dad had given him some lessons on how to tell if people were lying and how to drag the truth out of them, micro expressions and all that jazz. He assumed that those same rules applied to Pokémon.

He sighed, turning away from his possible rescuer in frustration, putting his paws on his temple to resist an oncoming headache. "Great… just _great_…" He muttered under his breath. He was somehow turned into a Pikachu, surrounded by talking Pokémon, and to top it all off he had _no idea _where he was. 'And I thought I had bad luck when I was looking for my dad…'

"Hmm… you're a little… strange, if I'm being honest," He heard the Bulbasaur say from behind him, followed by soft footsteps against the padded dirt floor. "But you seem like a nice Pokémon!" She exclaimed happily following her admittedly insulting statement.

Tim rolled his eyes, glancing at her with a deadpan expression on his yellow-furred face. "Thanks, I guess…"

She stuck out one of her front paws, beaming. "I'm Ashlyn! Nice to finally meet you," she greeted, her tone friendly.

Tim stared at the appendage, frozen where he stood, not expecting such a… human gesture from her.

Ashlyn held out her paw for a good twenty seconds before she coughed awkwardly, unsure if she did something wrong or not. "Are you gonna shake it, or…?" She asked, trailing off.

That simple question was enough to knock Tim out of his stupor. "Oh, er, s-sorry," He quickly apologized, inwardly cringing at his actions. Sure, Ashlyn might be a Pokémon, but so was he now… for some reason, so he was one of them. 'Great first impression on the first Pokémon you meet, Tim,' He chastised himself.

"Tim, I, uh… appreciate the help," He responded. He was still a little shaken from this bizarre experience, so he was being cautious with his words. Thankfully, that seemed to appease Ashlyn, as she flashed him a wide grin.

Movement to his left caught Tim's attention, as another Pokémon entered the room. He recognized those blue feathers that formed a sort of blazer and that iconic music-note head as a Chatot. He had only seen a couple before, but they were known to be able to imitate anything a human said, which made them rather unique among the regions. 'I heard they were native to Sinnoh, so maybe I was right about where I was?' He wondered, breaking his hand- er, _paw_shake with Ashlyn.

The Chatot smiled, though for what reason he did not know. "Ah, nice to see you up and about! She was rather worried, you know," He gestured over to Ashlyn. She glanced away, seemingly flustered as she muttered something that sounded like 'anyone would've done it'.

"Yeah, thank you for your help, mister… Chatot," Tim said, hoping that calling the Pokémon by their species name wasn't considered rude. Thankfully, Chatot didn't make any signs of being mad at his comment, simply smiling at him while bobbing his head and tail back and forth, almost like a metronome.

"It was no trouble! That's what the Guild is for, after all,~" He said cheerfully in a sing-song voice.

Tim was a little confused as to what this 'Guild' was since they kept mentioning it, but just as he opened his mouth to question Chatot the musical bird cut him off. "Now that you're awake, the Guildmaster would like to see you both. Come along now," He beckoned, turning on the spot and waving them over.

Ashlyn and Tim both glanced at each other, though one was excited and the other was bewildered. You could probably guess who. "Guildmaster Wigglytuff wants to see us?! Wow, what an honor!" Ashlyn exclaimed, eyes shining with joy.

Tim sighed, already feeling mentally exhausted with how his day has been going. 'At least I'll get some answers… hopefully,'

* * *

**First little break in canon here with no Beach Cave and no Team Skull… at least, not **_**yet**_**. This chapter was a tad longer than the first one, though still a little short, so I wanted to ask you guys a question. Do you like this length, or should I work on longer chapters, like around 5-7k words in length, or longer? Leave a review on what you think I should do or on what you think of the story as a whole. Until next time!**


	3. 2: A Detective's Work Never Ends

Well,** my lovelies, I have returned!**

**You can stop worrying that this story is dead, because I'm here to say that it is not! I am extremely sorry about the brief hiatus, but I was stuck in a bout of writers block for my other story, and I really wanted to get that finished before getting this chapter done. Now that that's over, I can get back to really writing! Thanks for all the attention on this story so far, got a bit more than I was expecting!**

**Thanks to everyone that reviewed so far, too!**

**Ri2: Yes indeed, now it's his turn!**

**Harrison: It does seem like it, huh?**

**bauers374: I'm glad you think this is a good idea, and I totally agree with you on the sand. To answer your question, yes this is the PMD2 storyline, with a few changes I will implement.**

**Scarlet Firesong: I'm super glad you're into it, and I hope you enjoy this next chapter my dude!**

**That's all the reviews I got, now let's jump right into it!**

* * *

Chapter 2:

A Detective's Work Never Ends

* * *

When it comes to mornings, Tim decided that this one definitely gets categorized under the 'really, _really _weird' folder. If someone told him yesterday that when he woke up the next morning he would be a Pikachu in a place full of talking Pokémon, he'd want to get as far away as possible from whoever said that since it was a high possibility that they were crazy.

'Kinda ironic, now that I think I'm about to go insane,' Tim thought flatly to himself as he walked alongside the Bulbasaur that had brought him into this strange building, trying to get used to walking with much shorter, stubbier legs. As he almost tripped over seemingly nothing for what seemed like the thousandth time, he decided he was never going to take his regular human legs for granted ever again.

Speaking of the Bulbasaur, Ashlyn has been vibrating with very visible excitement ever since the Chatot had said that the 'Guildmaster' would like to see them, a wide, beaming smile stretched across her stubby muzzle. He would've called it cute, if he wasn't too busy trying to prevent an embarrassing face plant.

Eventually, the long hallway that connected to a couple of other rooms that Tim didn't seem important enough to glance into opened up into a very large central hall. Two windows on either side of the hall provided a gracious amount of natural lighting that was more than enough for anybody to see with, and on the other side of the hall stood a large archway similar to the one the small group of three currently stood underneath, the only difference being a tantalizingly sweet aroma wafting into the air from it's depths. How Tim knew that sweet smell was coming from that other hallway, he did not know. There was also a mysterious hole in the ground near the other archway, but he paid it no mind. The room was rugged and primitive, yes, but the natural foliage sprouting with colorful flowers here and there more than made up for it, adding some beautiful naturalness to the scene.

Tim, however, wasn't entirely focused on the prettiness of the decor, no. He was more interested in the many Pokémon that made the area look very lively. He counted around fifteen different species in total, some meandering about and doing their business, while others seemed more content to simply hang around in one spot and converse with the others around them. There was even a Croagunk sitting inside a _giant stone carving_ of _another Croagunk_, trading what looked like some precious items with an Arcanine!

"_Woah…_" He said before he could stop himself, his jaw hanging freely. Wherever Tim had just found himself, he was a long ways from home. 'They have their own entire society here! Where in the world _am _I?!' So many possibilities flooded through his mind, none of them good.

His thought flow was abruptly plugged when he heard Ashlyn chuckling. "Awesome, right? I had the same reaction," she said, her eyes shining with excitement.

Tim nodded numbly. "That's… one word to describe this place, I guess,"

Chatot suddenly squawked out of nowhere, before he dashed over in front of Tim, looking like he had just remembered something important. "Where are my manners, you probably don't even know where you are!" The musical bird exclaimed, flapping his wings up and down frantically.

Tim blinked in surprise at his sudden shift in mood. 'Okay, I didn't realize it was possible for Pokémon to be bipolar,' He thought dryly.

"Uh, I think Ashlyn said something about a guild?" He answered, recalling to their relatively short meeting not two minutes earlier.

Chatot's frantic wing flapping was quickly put to an end when Tim mentioned the guild, calming down nearly instantly with an awkward cough. "Ah, well, that certainly makes things easier…" The flamboyant bird muttered, before quickly perking up with a smile (well, as much of a smile one could have with a beak).

"This is the guild, yes! Welcome to Wigglytuff's Guild!" Chatot said with a flourish of his bright blue wing, gesturing to the lively scene before them.

Ashlyn bounced lightly on her claws, excitement filling her to the brim. Tim just looked more confused, tilting his head slightly. "And what does, uh, the 'guild' do, exactly?" He asked, wanting to get as much information about this highly unusual situation as he could. 'Sounds like something out of Dungeons and Dragonites…' He mused, though not voicing this thought considering that none of these Pokémon would have any idea what the fantasy game even was.

Both Ashlyn and Chatot gave him an odd look however when he said, causing him to start sweating a bit on the inside. 'Uh oh. Did I say something wrong already?' Tim wondered, cursing his luck. Not even three sentences in and he says something weird.

Chatot hummed as if thinking to himself, the extension on top of his head bobbing ever so slightly as he tilted his head. "I'm a little surprised you don't know of the guild…" The bird said, causing a bead of sweat to appear on Tim's forehead.

His worries needn't go any further, however, when Chatot's smile returned, his tail and head bobbing in rhythm like a metronome. "That's no problem, however! I can explain all you need to know,"

Tim resisted the urge to sigh out in relief. 'Yeesh… that was close. I told Ashlyn I was a human, but she's the only one. I don't know how others would react to me being a human,' Tim thought, inwardly wondering if humans even existed in this place. This structure would suggest so, but considering just how crude it was… it definitely gave more questions than answers, that's for sure.

The bird cleared his throat in preparation for an explanation, bringing Tim out of his convoluted thoughts. "As I said before, this is Wigglytuff's Guild! Here at the guild, we have many different teams of Pokémon that help around the town and do missions given to us from various Pokémon in need!

However, what we do the most is exploring Mystery Dungeons!" He happily exclaimed, trying to inject a sense of wonder into the term.

Tim, having never heard of a Mystery Dungeon, wasn't instilled with any sort of wonder at all. He was actually quite confused.

"...What, uh, what's a 'Mystery Dungeon'?" He asked, unknowingly causing great confusion for his listeners.

"Y-you don't know what a Mystery Dungeon is?!" Ashlyn exclaimed in shock, making Tim jump a bit from the unexpected change in volume. He rubbed his ears a bit, not expecting them to be so much more sensitive.

He groaned a bit before replying. "No, I don't… I'm kinda not from around here," Tim said, a little miffed at her for yelling right next to him.

Ashlyn noticed his change in attitude, and cringed when she realized that she had literally screamed right into his ear. "S-sorry, that was just… surprising. Were you really a… hoo-man, or whatever you said?" The Bulbasaur asked incredulously.

Tim tried to ignore the headache growing in his skull. "First of all, it's human, not… hoo-man, and second, yes, that's what I've been trying to say to you," he said, starting to get a tad frustrated with everything that has happened to him thus far.

Ashlyn looked away from him, a mixture of guilt and wonder on her muzzle. "Sorry, it's just so… unbelievable." She said at a much more reasonable volume, to Tim's relief.

Chatot, who had listened to their small conversation with interest, hummed quietly to himself. "A Pokémon who used to be a human? But they're nothing more than whispers in legends! This is unprecedented…" the bird ranted under his breath, his gaze unfocused as if trying to solve a great riddle.

The two newfound acquaintances put aside the rather awkward introduction they were having thus far to stare at Chatot, confusion evident on both of their faces. "Um… is something wrong, Mister Chatot?" Ashlyn asked, sounding hesitant as she did so, remembering the bird's first extreme attitude turnaround.

Sure enough, Chatot reacted about the same way, complete with frantic wing flapping and hooping up and down. "What?! Wrong?! Oh, no no no, far from it, in fact!" He exclaimed.

And again, his attitude changed on a dime, no longer nearly as frantic. "It's no matter if you don't know what Mystery Dungeon is! It's highly unlikely you'll find yourself in one on accident, anyway!" He chimed, humming slightly to himself.

Tim and Ashlyn shared a worried glance.

"Well, right this way, please! We've kept the Guildmaster waiting long enough," he called, having moved over to a large door when they weren't paying attention.

Ashlyn immediately perked up, bounding over to the door, that look of wonder right back in its place. Tim was more hesitant, growing more and more nervous around this place. Chatot's muttering wasn't helping matters, either.

The door, while crude like the rest of the building, seemed very sturdy and well-crafted, complete with a pink design on the front. A window to the right of the small group let light spill onto the space in front of the door, making it almost seem more important than the other rooms he had seen thus far.

"Beyond here are the Guildmaster's chambers," Chatot explained to the two of them, gesturing towards the wooden set of doors. Tim heard Ashlyn mutter what sounded like 'Wow…' under her breath.

Tim was about to ask what the Guildmaster was like, but Chatot quickly held up a wing to silence the both of them, quickly catching their attention. "Under _no _circumstances are you to be disrespectful to the Guildmaster. He is a figure that is respected among many Pokémon across the continent, and you will treat him as such. Understood?" The bird ordered, suddenly extremely serious.

Tim suddenly found his mouth was extremely dry, and he shakily nodded to Chatot. 'Geez, how scary can one Wigglytuff be?'

* * *

The answer was very.

"HIYAH!" The pink blob suddenly yelled out in greeting, turning a perfect 180 on a dime to face the three of them.

Tim jumped a little from the unexpected yell, as did Ashlyn. "Oh, u-uh, h-hi, mister Wigglytuff?" He stammered out when he saw Chatot's expectant look, hoping that would be sufficient enough to please the two of them.

Ashlyn said nothing, though whether it was from fear or awe, Tim couldn't tell. 'Probably awe, considering how excited she was to hear that this Pokémon wanted to see us…' He rationalized.

"My name's Wigglytuff!" The Guildmaster said, placing a tiny pink paw on his chest (or where his chest would be) for emphasis. "So you're the Pikachu Ashlyn brought in for us?"

Tim blinked in confusion, before figuring out that Wigglytuff was referring to him. "Oh, yep, that's… that's me," He said lamely, an obviously fake smile on his face. 'I've gotta get used to people calling me a Pikachu…'

Thankfully, Wigglytuff seemed to have bought his fake happiness, showing his own much more genuine smile. "That's great! I always hate to see new friends get hurt," he said, humming 'friends, friends~' to himself.

Tim couldn't help but smile along with him. 'He sounds like the kind of guy to genuinely care about everyone… haven't met too many of _those_ in my life,' he thought darkly, remembering the first time he thought Howard was one of those people.

Chatot, who had stayed silent through Wigglytuff's introduction, cleared his throat. "While his swift recovery is remarkable, there is still the issue of what to do with them now," The bird said.

"What to do with us?" Ashlyn repeated, wondering what exactly that meant.

Tim wanted to ask the same question, not liking how Chatot had said that.

"Well, now that Tim over here has made a full recovery, we can't exactly let you stay here for free anymore!" Chatot explained. "We'll most likely send you on your merry way now that this whole fiasco is over,"

Tim's heart dropped when he heard those words. 'Shoot… I hadn't even thought about going off into this weird world on my own! How am I going to survive out there? I don't even know how to do a single attack!' He ranted in his mind, worry apparent on his face. He had learned about what Pokémon act like in the wild, and he didn't even want to _think_ about what would happen if he came across a hungry Persian or Pyroar.

Ashlyn noticed his obvious inner plight. "Tim? Are you okay? I'm sad that we have to leave, too, but we'll be fine!" She said, trying to comfort the human-turned-Pikachu.

Tim groaned in frustration. "It's not that, it's just… I don't know where I am and I don't have anywhere to go, okay?"

Ashlyn's eyes widened slightly in surprise. "You don't have anywhere to go? That's awful!"

Tim resisted the urge to roll his eyes. "Yeah, I kinda figured that."

"While I do agree that isn't… ideal," Chatot interjected. "I'm afraid there isn't anything we can do. We're still a business, not a charity."

Tim sighed. He had hoped he could stay here while he figured out some sort of plan to get back home, or at least find his bearings, but he understood where Chatot was coming from. He _did _work for an insurance company, after all.

"I have an idea!" Wigglytuff suddenly chimed in, that same jubilant smile never once wavering.

The three looked over to the Guildmaster, with varying levels of confusion. "Really? But what else could we do?" Chatot asked, his head tilted to the side ever so slightly.

"Why don't we register them as an Exploration Team?" He proposed. "Then we could have new friends!" The Guildmaster cheered, spreading his arms wide.

The reactions from the other three present in the room varied wildly. Ashlyn gasped in shock, her eyes shining with a newfound excitement and joy. "R-really?! It would be an honor, Guildmaster Wigglytuff!"

Tim was confused. He was beginning to find that this was often the case in this strange new scenario he found himself in. "Exploration Team…?" He muttered, wondering what that was.

Chatot was the most verbal. "WHAAAT?!" He yelled. "B-but Guildmaster! Surely, you understand how difficult the training is for new teams! They'll quit in the first week!"

'Thanks for the vote of confidence,' Tim thought sarcastically.

The Guildmaster, however, was not deterred. "I'm sure they'll be fine!~" He said cheerfully, humming to himself.

"But… Wh-" Chatot stammered, trying to find anything that would change Wigglytuff's mind. He knew, though, that once the Guildmaster's mind was set, there was no changing it. He sighed in defeat. "...Fine, I suppose that would work…"

"Yes! Didja hear that, Tim? We're gonna be an Exploration Team! I can't believe it!" Ashlyn whooped with joy, looking the happiest she had been since Tim first met her. Granted, that was less than thirty minutes ago, but still.

Tim, however, was less excited. "Haha, yeah, that's… great!" He said, trying and failing miserably to match her boundless enthusiasm for this guild. 'At least I'll have a place to stay… what does an Exploration Team even do? There's gotta be some sort of catch, right?'

"Alright! Let's form an Exploration Team!" Wigglytuff said, sounding just as excited as Ashlyn was. "First, tell me your team's name."

The two soon-to-be-explorers paused in their mini celebration, glancing over at each other. "I, uh, didn't even think of that, to be honest…" Ashlyn said, rubbing the back of her head with a paw in embarrassment. "You got any ideas, Tim?"

He blinked, not expecting to be put on the spot like that. 'A team name? I don't know, uh…' "...How about Team Ryme?" Tim suggested. It wasn't the most creative in the world, but it sounded okay and it was the best he could come up with on short notice.

"...Team Ryme?" Ashlyn repeated, feeling how it sounded coming out of her mouth. "Team Ryme! I like it! It has a nice ring to it," she praised.

"It's settled then! I'll register your team as Ryme." Wigglytuff said, and then he began to… do a little jig? "Registering~, registering~..."

'This place just gets weirder and weirder…' Tim thought, staring at Wigglytuff the whole time.

Then, with a flourish of his arms and a little spin, Wigglytuff yelled out, "YOOM… TAH!"

Tim swore he saw some lights flash out of nowhere for a second.

"Congratulations!" Wigglytuff said after standing with his arms spread for a good ten seconds. "From now on, you're an official Exploration Team!"

Ashlyn looked so excited that she might burst into flames, while Tim just half-smiled.

Wigglytuff pulled out a golden box out of Arceus knows where, some letters engraved on the top of the tiny chest. "I present you two this out of commemoration," and with that, he set the box down in front of him, the letters 'PETK' now clearly visible. The box was made out of what looked like wood, with a gold coating covering the entire surface.

"A Pokémon Exploration Team Kit?" Ashlyn asked, noticing the engraved letters on top.

The Guildmaster nodded in confirmation. "Yep. It's what every Exploration Team needs!" He gestured towards the kit with one stubby pink paw. "Go on, open it up!"

The two newly dubbed partners glanced at each other, before they walked up to the box and opened it up. Inside the golden box was a brown leather satchel, a rolled up piece of old parchment paper which was probably a map of some sort, and two small badges. The badges were of unfamiliar design to Tim, a white Pokéball that had two wings sprouting out of the side.

"That bag is a Treasure Bag! It lets you hold items you find on your adventures," Wigglytuff explained to the duo, pointing at the bag first. "If you do well as a team, it'll get bigger and bigger! Isn't that exciting?

"That's the Wonder Map!" Wigglytuff moved on to the map Tim was currently inspecting as he tried to see any landmarks he found familiar. "It's a wonder of convenience!"

Tim rolled the so called 'Wonder Map' up angrily when he didn't recognize _anything_. 'Great, now I know for sure I'm in some totally random region…'

Ashlyn, meanwhile, was holding up the small badge with one of her vines, a look of wonder on her face. "I never thought I'd hold one of these…"

Wigglytuff tittered at her expression. "And that's the Explorer Badge! It's your official team identification, and a nifty way to get back here in a pinch!"

Tim had also moved on to his own badge, holding it up to his face with a skeptical look. "How does a badge get us back here?" He asked, not quite understanding how that would work.

"Whenever you're done with a mission or in tight spot, just press the center and you'll be warped right back here!" Wigglytuff answered, though that did nothing but add more questions to Tim's rapidly growing repertoire.

Tim sighed internally, adding 'teleporting badges' to his list of things he doesn't understand at all.

Wigglytuff continued with his introduction of the three main items they would be using throughout their stay here. "I left a little surprise for you, why don't you look inside you Treasure Bag?"

Ashlyn did as she was told, using her vines to ruffle through the satchel for a bit, before she came up with two pieces of cloth. One was a deep blue, and the other was a bright red. Both looked like ordinary cloth, but for some reason Tim could tell they were special… somehow.

"Those two items are special," Wigglytuff confirmed. "I'm sure they will help you on your adventures!~"

Ashlyn's eyes glowed with awe and appreciation. "W-Wow! Thanks!" She said, handing Tim the blue cloth. "Here, I think this one would suit you more,"

Tim gingerly grasped the scarf in his paw. "I do like blue a bit more than red…" he agreed, feeling the material in his palm.

"Alright, you two are all set! But remember, you're only apprentices right now, so do your best to train and get better!" Wigglytuff said.

Ashlyn nodded rapidly. "Of course! We'll do our best!"

The Bulbasaur turned to her partner, grinning wide and her eyes shining in happiness. "Let's always do our best, Tim!" She exclaimed, holding out her paw.

Tim stood there for a moment. 'I'm in an unfamiliar land that I've never seen or heard of before, in some weird guild place, and I've been turned into a Pikachu…'

He took his new partner's paw in his own, shaking it with a soft smile. '... But you know what? It could be worse.'

Wigglytuff's wise smile grew even wider, if that were possible, at their show of camaraderie. Even Chatot had a ghost of a grin on his beak. That was short lived, however, when he cleared his throat once more to catch their attention. "Well, Team Ryme, now that _that _is settled, the day is yours. Tomorrow will mark the first day of your work around here, but for now, why don't you go around and familiarize yourself with the facilities? This will be your home for a while, after all,"

Ashlyn nodded. "Of course, mister Chatot!" She suddenly grabbed Tim's paw and pulled hard, dragging him along as she dashed out of the Guildmaster's chambers. "C'mon, let me show you around town, Tim!" She said to the Pikachu who was currently yelling out in surprise.

Chatot groaned under his breath when they left. Somehow, he just knew those two were going to be great explorers, and even greater troublemakers.

* * *

**Done and done! Finally got around to the meeting with Wigglytuff, and Team Ryme is in full operation! I bought Detective Pikachu on YouTube recently, and I'm gonna be watching it a lot so I can get Tim's character down as accurately as possible. Hopefully, y'all are enjoying this little story, and I decided to go with a little longer length for this chapter, around 4K words this time around. I'll hopefully be able to get the next chapter up soon enough, so stay tuned!**

**Thank you so much reading, and if you enjoyed, or didn't like it much, leave me a review or a fav/follow so you can catch the rest of the action!**

**Until next time, this is SquidlyDiddly, signing off!**


	4. 3: Changes Abound

**Welcome back my lovelies, got another chapter for you guys here. I know there isn't much action going on right now, but that was the case in these games anyways, so bear with me. After this chapter, you're probably not going to see another one for a while since I'm gonna be working on other fics for a hot minute. Don't worry though, I'll be back eventually!**

**Now for the lone review I got since last update;**

**Scarlet: I'm glad you think it's turning out good so far! I do think Bulbasaur is an under appreciated option in the PMD games, though considering some of the bosses I do think it's one of the riskier choices in terms of type disadvantage.**

**Ah, the partner question. That's probably a question most of you have. Do not worry, all will be revealed in due time. No spoilers here for now, so stay tuned.**

**Yes, some things aren't going to happen/be hurried along because Tim is a lot more observant than your character in the explorers games. How that will affect the story will also be revealed in due time.**

**Alright, enough rambling! Let's get on with the show already!**

**Disclaimer stuff, I don't freakin own Gamefreak or Nintendo, so back off Nintendo ninjas**

* * *

Chapter 3:

Changes Abound

* * *

"C'mon, Tim, let's go! We don't have all day!... well, we do, but c'mon!"

Said Pikachu groaned as he pulled himself up the last rung of the shoddily made ladder, not used to having such tiny paws that didn't really grip things well compared to the wonder that was opposable thumbs. 'I'm never taking hands for granted ever again…'

"Just give me… gimme a second," He panted, still out of breath from how fast Ashlyn could run. For someone that had stubby little legs, she was deceptively fast.

Ashlyn rolled her large eyes in response, not giving him any pity at all. "You can whine about not being in shape later, but right now I've got a whole town to show you, so _c'mon!_" She exclaimed, running out the entrance to what appeared to be a tent, though she had the decency to not latch onto Tim this time around.

"I am in shape! I just… don't exactly like _running, _that's all…" He muttered the last part, deflating a bit when he noticed she wasn't listening whatsoever. "Alright, I'm coming, I'm coming…"

What had been a clear, sapphire-blue sky had transformed into a beautiful mixture of reds and purples, the clouds giving dark accents to the bright oranges and yellows the sun was projecting onto this unfamiliar land. He unknowingly stepped over a grate that he would come to despise later, mesmerized by the sight before him. "Woah…" He muttered, finding himself unable to look away. The last time he had seen such a beautiful sky was way back then when he was still a little kid. You didn't get to see stuff like this in Ryme, what with how many large buildings there were.

"Tim!" Ashlyn called, running back up a large stone staircase that led back up to the entrance to the guild, her brow creased and her muzzle tilted in an irritated frown. "Don't make me drag you along again! It's almost dark out and I don't want to spend all day waiting for you, you know," she said.

"Oh, s-sorry, just… haven't seen this pretty of a sunset since I was a kid," Tim said, trying to explain his way out of more of her surprisingly scary wrath.

She blinked, her angry looking swiftly turning into an apologetic one. "O-oh… no, that's my bad, I didn't know," she said, sitting on her haunches.

Tim waved her off, his eyes not leaving the skies above. "It's cool, I just… wanna enjoy this for a moment,"

They stood in silence for a moment, letting the soft breeze and the crackling of the lit torches filling the absence of conversation.

That is, until Ashlyn decided that this had gone on long enough. "Alright, as much as I like looking at pretty skies, we're gonna miss an even _cooler_ view if we don't hurry!" She urged, plodding up behind him and nudging him with enough force to knock him forward a bit, but not enough to hurt.

"Oh, yeah, sorry… don't know why I got caught up there," he said, genuinely confused as to why he had found the sky so fascinating. He thought on it for a second before deeming it unimportant, deciding to figure it out later.

Ashlyn snorted, walking back in front. "Stop apologizing so much, it's fine! Now c'mon, we've wasted enough time already," the Bulbasaur commanded, before suddenly booting down the stairs like a Zubat out of hell.

"Hey, wait u-" Tim sighed once again when he realized she wasn't listening _again._ "This isn't normally how a team _works,_ you know!" He called after her, going as fast as he could with his new legs that he definitely still wasn't used to, judging by how many times he almost tripped and fell flat on his face.

* * *

Tim was a little confused, to say the least, when he noticed they ran right past the path that led right into a bustling little village, instead taking a different path that, somehow, seemed familiar to him. 'Where have I seen this path before…?' He idly wondered as he followed behind Ashlyn, who thankfully had slowed down enough for him to catch up.

"Right around here, c'mon!" She ushered, picking up her pace to a slight jog around the dirt bend.

"Can you _please_ just slow down a tiny bit? I'm not used to having stubby little legs…" He complained. He thought running was supposed to be easy, although that was back when his legs were bigger than three inches long.

When he rounded the corner, he suddenly remembered why he recognized this dirt path.

"...The beach I passed out on? Why'd you bring me here?" He asked, recognizing the sand he unceremoniously fell face-first on. In fact, he could still see a faint outline of where his comatose body had landed.

Ashlyn, however, didn't answer at all. She was entranced by something across the sea, her eyes fixated on the horizon.

Tim tilted his head in confusion, his brow furrowing. "Uh, Ashlyn? Is something…" he trailed off when he saw what exactly she was so mesmerized by, his jaw hanging open.

The sun was just beginning it's beautiful descent through the sky, the bottom half of the orange orb dipping below the calm waters, giving a beautiful reflection off of the blue depths. The sky was even prettier from this spot, but it wasn't just because of the ocean waters, although that was a big part of it.

Bubbles big and small floated aimlessly through the air above the pair, the sunlight glistening off of them to give them an almost heavenly glow. The small orbs of air added an extra layer of natural beauty to the scene that left Tim astounded with the sight. He had never seen such a beautiful sunset in his life.

"Pretty, isn't it?" Ashlyn asked quietly, not taking her eyes off the horizon.

Tim nodded slowly in agreement. "Yeah…" he breathed.

They sat in silence for a beat, letting the soft crashing of waves against the shore fill their ears.

"... it's always been my dream to be in an Exploration Team," Ashlyn said, sounding nostalgic and… melancholy, for some reason. "And now that I'm in one, it's… almost like a _dream_."

Tim turned to her, not expecting her to open up like this to him. They had just met, after all. Yet, Tim couldn't help but be curious about her past. If they were going to be partners for an indefinite amount of time, it would be a good idea to get to know her. "How come you haven't formed one yet? I'm not from around here, but it seemed kinda… easy,"

Ashlyn sighed, her smile that Tim was already used to seeing fading into a sad frown. "I was… afraid." She admitted. "I know it seems silly, but every time I stepped up to the Guild, I just… froze. Too scared to even get _near _the entrance…"

Tim frowned softly, not liking her beating herself up like this. He may not know her that well, but he did like how infective her positivity is, and to see her down on herself like this, it made _him _a little sad.

"Sometimes, other Pokémon would make fun of me… call me 'wimp' or 'chicken'," she muttered, growing more and more sad with each word. "And that was the other reason. I… I didn't have any friends. I've never been good with other Pokémon, and you need at least two to form a team."

Tim sympathized with her there. He was the same way, never good with other kids. Sure, he had friends, but they were never plentiful and easy to get like he saw with some others, and his decision to give up on Pokémon training further cemented him as an outcast among his peers. "I know how you feel," he said.

Ashlyn blinked in surprise, turning away from the sun to look at her partner. "R-really?" She asked, sounding hopeful.

Tim nodded. "Yeah… back where I was from, I ever really fit in with the other kids, so I kinda just kept to myself," he explained.

Ashlyn didn't respond. She stared at Tim with unrecognizable emotion in her eyes. Pity? Sadness? He couldn't tell.

There was something that he had been bothering him, though. She had said that she was always too afraid to enter the guild, so… "Um, Ashlyn? How did I end up in the guild after I passed out?"

The Bulbasaur blinked when her name was said. "Huh? Oh," she rubbed the back of her head with a paw, her cheeks turning a darker shade of green for a second. "I took you there. I was so scared, and Wigglytuff was the first Pokémon that come to mind when I thought of who could help," she said.

Tim furrowed his brow. "But… I thought you said you were too scared to enter the guild."

Ashlyn went to respond to that, and then paused, realizing that she had overcome her fear. "Huh… you're right. I guess I was just so concerned about you that I wasn't even thinking about it…" she reasoned.

"Well, that doesn't sound like something a wimp or a chicken would do," he said. "You managed to carry me all the way to guild, which was up a pretty big flight of stairs, and even managed to get over your own fear to get me help. That sounds pretty strong to me," he praised, trying to get her out of this depressive funk.

Thankfully, it seemed to sort of work, as her eyes grew wide and shiny with gratitude. "I-I guess I was pretty strong to do that, huh?" She said, that same smile stretched wide across her muzzle once more.

And once again, Tim found that smile infectious, as he mirrored her expression. "I'd say so."

Once again they sat in silence, their eyes back on the shore. The sun was now halfway through its journey, only the top peeking out from the waters.

"Tim?" Ashlyn spoke, catching the detective's attention.

"Mm-hmm?" He responded, his neck once again swiveling to face her.

A moment later, he yelled out in surprise when the Bulbasaur tackle hugged him, sending them sprawling across the sand. "Agh! Ashlyn, what-" He exclaimed, though he was quickly silenced once he realized she had her front paws _and _her vines wrapped around his torso.

"Thank you for everything… I couldn't have done this without you," she said gratefully, vines wrapped right around her new partner.

Tim, while happy that he had cheered her up, was a tad more concerned that she was hugging him with enough force to crush him. "Ashlyn… can't… breathe!" He managed to choke out from his less than ideal position.

Ashlyn quickly hopped off of him once she realized she was hurting him, looking embarrassed and bashful. "S-sorry, sorry! I didn't mean to hurt you," she apologized.

Tim waved her off as he got back up to his feet. "You just caught me off guard, that's all. But… try to lay off the whole 'crushing my rib cage' thing from now on," He joker, brushing the sand out of his fur.

Ashlyn chuckled in embarrassment, her cheeks once again turning a darker shade of green. "I'm sorry, I'm just… happy. I still think that I'll wake up and this will all just be a dream…"

Tim knew that feeling all too well. He was _living_ that feeling right now.

Another silence fell between the two.

"Oh, I forgot to ask you… what exactly does an Exploration Team do?" Tim asked, remembering that he had a couple questions for her.

She blinked, tilting her head slightly. "...You seriously don't know what an Exploration Team is?"

Tim's blank stare was all the confirmation she needed.

She sighed, beginning to walk back to the path. With the bubbles gone and the sun beginning to descend lower, she decided it was time to head into town and give him the tour she promised. "I'll explain while we walk…"

* * *

"So… We're kind of like police officers and explorers then?"

Ashlyn nodded. "I guess you could put it like that? We do have Officer Magnezone to keep criminals detained, but Exploration Teams are usually the ones that go into Mystery Dungeons and capture them,"

'Huh… maybe all my detective training could actually be useful here,' Tim thought to himself, glad that his father's hard work wasn't going to waste. "You keep mentioning this 'Mystery Dungeon' thing, but I have literally no clue what that is,"

"Oh yeah, I remember you saying earlier you didn't know what that is…" Ashlyn said.

While they had slowly walked back to town, Ashlyn had taken the time to explain to Tim exactly what he had gotten himself into. In hindsight, maybe it wasn't the best idea to join a team that he had no information about, but hearing how passionate Ashlyn was about the subject and what an Exploration Team entailed made him feel more comfortable about his decision.

"Mystery Dungeons are places full of… well, mystery!" Ashlyn said, her eyes shining with wonder, like they usually did when she was talking about something she was very passionate about. "Nobody knows how they came to exist, but one thing we do know is that they're full of treasure and danger!"

Tim paused. '...Danger?' "Wh-what kind of danger are we talking about?" He asked, trying to hide his newfound fear and apprehensiveness.

"Well, Mystery Dungeons aren't just a walk in the park, y'know?" She explained, not noticing Tim's change in attitude. "For example, a Dungeon's layout is never the same. Nobody knows why, but once you exit a Dungeon, the next time you enter it will be completely different.

"The real reason that Mystery Dungeons can be dangerous, however, is the rogue Pokémon that inhabit them," She said.

"R-rogue Pokémon?" Tim repeated, not liking how familiar that sounded. He had dealt with rogue Pokémon before, and he did _not _want to repeat that. 'I still have nightmares about those Aipoms…' he shuddered, those crazed monkeys coming to mind.

Ashlyn did notice Tim shudder slightly, but didn't question it. "Yeah. For some reason, Pokémon in Dungeons are… different. We've tried reasoning with them many times, but it's like they only exist to prevent other Pokémon from completing a dungeon, so the only way to get past them is to fight." She explained.

Tim froze.

'... I don't even know how to fight.'

The thought that he would have to participate in battles hadn't struck him. How was he going to get through these Mystery Dungeons if he didn't have even the faintest idea of how to battle, let alone use any moves?

He was so caught up in his own worry, that he didn't realize Ashlyn had kept walking ahead. It took her a moment to realize that Tim wasn't beside her anymore. She turned back to her partner, noticing the worried and fearful look on his face. "Uh… Tim? You okay?" She asked, a tad concerned.

Tim jumped in surprise, before nodding rapidly and quickly catching up with her. "Y-yeah, I'm okay," He said unconvincingly.

Ashlyn didn't buy it for a second. "...You sure? You look a little worried there,"

"Yes, I'm fine." He said more confidently this time, though it sounded forced.

She wanted to press further, but she was quickly cut off when Tim pointed to their left. "Oh hey, look, the town! Let's, uh, get going," He said, quickly changing the subject before walking off into Treasure Town.

Ashlyn sighed. "O-kay, if you say so…"

* * *

Even though the sun had finally finished its long journey across the sky, letting the vast blanket that was night coat the sky in darkness, Treasure Town was just as lively. Pokémon of all shapes and sizes talked and laughed together, the tiki torches set up on the grass illuminating the civilization in a warm, orange glow.

"So this is… Treasure Town, you said?" Tim asked, remembering that Ashlyn had mentioned the name before.

The Bulbasaur nodded. "Yep! Usually all the shops are open and stuff, but that's okay! I can introduce you tomorrow,"

"This right here is Duskull bank!" She said, walking up to one of the stalls. Tim looked warily at the design, a rather realistic looking Duskull sitting atop a stone structure, complete with the glowing red eye that the Pokémon usually had.

"It certainly is, uh… interesting," Tim said, struggling to find anything positive to say about this particular building. 'What is it with the Pokémon here and building stuff that looks like them?' He wondered, remembering the small structure above Wigglytuff's Guild.

"Why thank you, stranger! I designed it myself,"

"WAGH!" Tim yelled out in shock, jumping about ten feet in the air when a Duskull suddenly appeared from behind the stone table, it's single red eye looking amused at Tim's reaction.

Ashlyn laughed at his expense, and he was pretty sure that Duskull was too. He didn't even know that they _could _laugh.

"Oh, ha ha, so… funny," Tim said in between breaths, trying to refill his lungs after being so easily frightened. "Really… really good joke,"

Ashlyn grinned cheekily, still chuckling under her breath. "Sorry, Tim, but that _was _good! Nice one, Duskull," she complimented the ghost, who nodded in reply.

"Always nice to meet newcomers, hee-hee!" Duskull said.

Ashlyn gave one final wave to the ghost before walking away from the bank, Tim following hurriedly behind. "Please tell me that the rest of the vendors aren't like him." He said, almost pleading.

"Oh, no, he's almost one of a kind, but he's really nice when you get to know him, and trust me when I say you'll never lose a single coin with him," she said, still smiling happily as she bounced along the dirt path, her eyes set on another shop, this one unlit however.

It was a tad hard to see in the darkness, but from what he could tell it was another tent with a realistic looking Electivire head on top. "That's Electivire Link Shop. I… honestly, I don't know what it's for, but that's because Electivire' sheen away for a while and I've never used it," she explained, not stopping at this stall and instead moving across a wooden bridge that spanned across a river.

The next stall they came across was in similar design to how Duskull's was set up, but instead of a Duskull head it was a giant Kecleon head, and the stone was replaced with a wooden table.

Ashlyn walked up to the stall, where two Kecleon were sitting. "Hello, Kecleon bros!" She greeted, Tim walking up beside her. He didn't know these two at all, so he settled for a simple wave.

The two Kecleon brothers both smiled and waved at the Bulbasaur in return. "Ah, Ashlyn, hello! How have you been?" The green one asked. "And who is this? I don't think I've seen a Pikachu in town before," the purple one continued, gesturing to Tim.

Tim grimaced when the Kecleon said 'Pikachu', still not used to being referred to as such. "Uh, I'm Tim, nice to… meet you," He said with uncertainty, trying to pretend this was a normal conversation with normal people and _not _talking lizards.

The Kecleon brothers both offered their greetings, that friendly smile that was practiced over years of being a salesman never wavering on either of them.

"Tim helped me form an Exploration Team! Our first day is tomorrow!" She said, her happiness obvious to anyone that listened to her.

The Kecleons both smiled wide at that news. "Congratulations to you both!" The purple one said. "I suppose we'll be seeing you two later for supplies, then?" The green one asked, a gleam in his eye.

Ashlyn nodded. "Oh, of course! We'll see you tomorrow!" She waved goodbye to the two merchants, Tim once again following behind her.

"They seemed friendly," Tim said.

"Yep! They're the number one place to get any supplied for exploring," She said, then she paused. "Well, more like the _only _place, bet you get what I mean."

They walked up to another stall, this one different from the others. While most of the stalls so far were tents, this one was a full on stone structure, a Kangaskan head on top. "How many more stalls are there?" Tim asked, his feet starting to ache from the constant walking around. He was slowly getting used to having small paws instead of actual legs, but it was definitely a lot harder.

"This is the last one, Kangaskan Storage! I think she's gone home for the day, but she's really useful! She can store all the items you find in Dungeons so they won't get lost, and you can withdraw them for free!" She explained.

Tim had to admit that does sound useful. "I guess we'll be coming here a lot, then?"

Ashlyn nodded. "You bet!"

"Soooo…" Tim said, clapping his paws together. "Since this is the last one, shouldn't we be heading back…?"

Ashlyn gasped. "You're right! C'mon, let's go, don't wanna miss dinner!" She exclaimed before dashing off in the direction of the Guild, once again leaving Tim behind.

"Hey, wait-" Tim groaned in exasperation as he saw her run out of earshot, wanting to pull his hair out. "This isn't how a team _operates_!" He said angrily, running after her.

* * *

Thankfully, the gates were open when they arrived, allowing the two to enter without trouble.

Dinner was interesting, to say the least. It had allowed Tim to meet the rest of the apprentice Exploration Team members, and they were probably the most colorful characters he's ever encountered. _Especially_ this Loudred guy. Seriously, it was like he was _trying _to blow out your eardrums whenever you talked to him.

The food itself was even weirder. Initially, when he was given a plate of berries, Tim was a little confused, until he saw everybody else begin to demolish their meals like it was their last day on earth. Sure, he liked a good Oran berry every now and then, but he wasn't sure he would call them a meal. He ate them anyway, because he was starving and food was food, but he was surprised at how good and filling it was. It made him question just how much his insides have changed.

Eventually, however, the two were shown to their new room courtesy of Chatot. It was just the room Tim had woken up in furnished with two straw beds, really, but he wasn't going to complain. It was better than sleeping out in the woods.

It wasn't until Tim had lied down on top of his 'bed' that he realized how _tired _he actually was. It had been an extremely weird and exciting day, and now he was grateful for the chance to finally rest his eyes and feet.

The moon shone through the window, illuminating the room in a soft white glow.

"Man… today was exciting, huh Tim?" Ashlyn said, her voice barely above a whisper.

'You don't know the half of it…' Tim thought to himself, shifting slightly in his bed.

Ashlyn sighed happily as she looked out the window from her spot on the floor. "I never thought I'd be in an Exploration Team, but… here I am,"

There was a brief moment of silence.

"But… I never could've done this without you, Tim, so… thank you. A lot," she said gratefully, smiling softly.

Despite how tired he was, Tim couldn't help but crack a smile himself. "No…" he yawned loudly. "N-no problem,"

Ashlyn giggled at her partner. "We have a big day tomorrow, so let's try to get some sleep. Goodnight Tim," she said, before lying down fully on her bed of hay.

'...This has got to be the weirdest day I've ever had, and that's saying something,' Tim thought to himself.

'I've got a million questions, and no answers. That's usually how it goes for me, I guess. Like, how did I get here? Where even _is _here? Why was I turned into a Pikachu? How do I get back home?'

The young detective's mind was running a mile a minute, swirling with questions that had no answer in sight.

He sighed softly to himself. 'I guess for now I'll stay by Ashlyn's side. She's the closest thing I've got to a friend at this point, anyway… maybe I'll get some answers while I'm here,'

His mind made up, Tim drifted off to sleep, his mind just a little less restless.

* * *

**Ah, it feels good to finally be done with the short awakening arc, and now we can begin with the actual story stuff! I hope y'all are excited for what I've got planned, because there's **_**definitely **_**more to come. Hopefully things don't feel too rushed or too slow, and if so I'll ramp things up/tone it down accordingly. Don't forget to hit me with those reviews, my lovelies! Until next time!**


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